Lightning

At least three people, including an 8-year-old girl, were killed in separate weather-related incidents in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province as powerful storms, heavy rain and lightning struck parts of the country, local Taliban officials said.
The Taliban police command in Kandahar said two people were killed Wednesday afternoon when lightning struck near Maiwand district. It did not immediately release the identities of the victims.
In a separate incident, local sources said strong winds in Arghandab district caused a solar panel to collapse onto an 8-year-old girl, killing her.
The deaths came as severe weather swept across much of southern Afghanistan, including Kandahar, Helmand and Uruzgan provinces, bringing heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds that disrupted daily life and damaged property.
Local sources said the storms caused significant financial losses, particularly in Helmand and Uruzgan, though officials have not released a comprehensive assessment of the damage.
Sources also reported that the severe weather affected operations at the Kajaki Dam in Helmand, one of Afghanistan’s most important sources of hydroelectric power and irrigation.
Afghanistan is prone to extreme weather events, including flash floods, storms and droughts, which have become increasingly frequent and destructive in recent years. Aid agencies and climate experts have warned that the country remains highly vulnerable to climate-related disasters because of weak infrastructure, environmental degradation and limited disaster-response capacity.